973.7L63  Hambrecht ,  George  ^ 

GH17a     .X.   ^    . 

2    Abraham  Lincoln  His 

Spirit  Still  Lives 


cop 


LINCOLN  ROOM 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 

presented  by 

James  G.  and  Ruth  Painter 
Randall  Collection 


T'-rrmrmr^ff 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
HIS  SPIRIT  LIVES 


AN  APPRECIATION 

by 

George  P.  Hambrecht 
Madison,  Wisconsin 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
HIS  SPIRIT  LIVES 


AN  APPRECIATION 

by 

George  P.  Hambrecht 

Madison,  Wisconsin 

Issued  February  12,  1926 


Printed  at 
The  Vocational  School 
Stoughton,   Wisconsin 


Copyrighted,   1926 

by 

George  P.  Hambrecht 

f^  c^  c^ 

All  Rights  Reserved 


Cof'  5- 


LINCOLN 


PAINTED     BY    J,  H.  LITTLEFIELD.     --fc=*>:        •     ENGRAVED     BY    H     GUGLER. 
PHOTOGRAPHIC     COPYRIGHT    SECURED. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://archive.org/details/abrahamlincolnhiOOhamb 


Henry  Gugler,  the  engraver  of  the   foregoing 

portrait  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  came  to  America  in 

1853,  entering  one  of  the  Bank  Note  Companies  of  New 

York   City    as  a  steel  plate  engraver.      In  the  early  60's,  after  the 

breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War,  when  the  Government  undertook 

to  do  its  own   engraving    and    printing  of   paper    money,    Henry 


Gugler     was     engaged 
nettes   and  portraits, 
issues    then     being 
ly    established 
Bureau.      Some 
maybe  seen  on 
of   $5.00    and 
use  even  to  this 
Henry    Gugler 
to  leave  the 
Government 
what  was  to  be 
work   of   his 
life-size  steel 


as  engraver  of  the  vig- 

for    the     new     note 

prepared  at  the  new- 

National  Note 

of    his    work 

certain  issues 

$20.00  bills   in 

day.     In  1866 

was  persuaded 

employ  of  the 

to  undertake 

the  crowning 

career:    The 

engraving    of 


Abraham  Lincoln.     This    monumental  work  represents   more  than 
two   years    of  artistic  application  at  a  cost  of  nearly  $10,000.00. 

Upon  its  completion  it  was  immediately  pronounced  the  best 
likeness  of  our  martyred  President  in  existence.  At  the  same  time 
the  magnificent  dimensions  of  the  engraving  —  worthy  of  its  great 
subject  —  appealed  to  the  public.  No  work  of  life-size  steel  engraved 
portraiture  had  ever  been  attempted  before  this. 

As  the  years  pass  on  and  a  more  or  less  fixed  conception  of  the 

revered  features  of  Lincoln  crystalize  in  the  minds  of  our  people,  Henry 

Gugler's  engraving  may  now,  like  a  composite  photograph,  be  said 

to   represent  that  collective   conception  of  the  features  of 

Abraham  Lincoln,  which   our  people  individually 

cherish  and  carry  in  their  minds  and  hearts. 


This  Sketch  is  dedicated 

to  my  wife 

Kate  Barrows  Hambrecht 

Whose  friendly  suggestions  and 
loving  help  is  hereby  acknowledged 


This  Edition  is  limited  to  300  copies, 

numbered  and  signed  by  the  writer, 

of  which  this  is  No.  .Al6L^ 


FOREWORD 


The  writer  greatly  appreciates  the  kindness  of 
Mr.  O.  B.  Gugler,  President  of  the  Gugler  Lithographic 
Co.,  of  Milwaukee,  in  furnishing  the  reproduction  of 
the  Littlefield  painting  as  engraved  by  Henry  Gugler 
shortly  after  Mr,  Lincoln's  death.  Sincere  acknowl- 
edgment and  thanks  are  also  due  to  Mr.  E.  C.  Corn- 
stock,  Director  of  the  Vocational  School  at  Stoughton, 
Wisconsin,  through  whose  courtesy  this  monograph 
was  printed  as  a  project  of  the  school  print  shop;  and 
to  Mr.  R.  H.  Landis,  the  instructor  under  whose 
direction  the  work  was  done. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
HIS  SPIRIT  LIVES 


TODAY  Lincoln  is  a  world  charac- 
ter. His  biography,  writings,  and 
speeches  are  translated  into  every 
tongue  and  he  is  quoted  more  widely 
than  any  other  living  statesman;  and 
there  is  a  growing  tendency  in  these  days 
of  political  ferment,  disorganization  and 
adjustment,  to  turn  to  Lincoln  for  guid- 
ance. We  frequently  hear  the  query; 
"What  would  Lincoln  do  today  if  he 
were  living  in  our  generation?" 

On  every  hand  arguments  and  theories 
are  upheld  by  quotations  from  him,  and 
the  most  divergent  opinions  fly  to 
Lincoln  as  their  advocate.  Still  more, 
wherever  men  express  their  views  on  the 
vital  questions  of  the  day,  in  legislative 
halls,  on  the  public  platform,  the  pulpit, 
in  the  editorial  sanctum  or  private  con- 
verse, the  testimony  of  Lincoln  on  spe- 
cific problems  is  sought. 

[  page      1  ] 


What  splendid  tribute  is  this  faith  in 
him  thus  manifested  by  appeals  to  his 
expressed  opinion,  and  what  love  of  a 
cherished  memory  is  thus  demonstrated 
by  the  assumption  that  his  opinion  con- 
stitutes the  final  word  in  any  contro- 
versy! No  greater  monument  could  be 
his  than  this  reaching  up  of  hands  to 
the  beloved,  the  idolized  Lincoln. 

A  FUTILE  HOPE 

BUT  Lincoln  is  in  his  grave.  The 
prayer  that  he  solve  specific  pre- 
sent day  problems  is  as  faithless  as 
it  is  futile.  It  is  unfair  to  his  memory 
and  to  the  cause.  No  searching  analysis, 
born  of  a  wide  experience,  close  observa- 
tion and  intensive  study,  can  now  be 
given  by  him  before  judgment  is  pro- 
nounced. However  loud  the  call,  no 
response  can  come  from  him  to  the  de- 
mand for  his  verdict  on  questions  now 
confronting  the  people.  In  the  language 
of  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  "He  would 
probably  be  the  oracle  and  idol  of  suc- 

[  page     2  } 


ceeding  generations,  rather  than  popular 
in  this  one."  Let  Lincoln's  own  words 
answer  the  query:  "The  dogmas  of  the 
past  are  inadequate  to  the  stormy  present." 
Lincoln  constantly  warned  against  "rash- 
ness" and  urged  "ceaseless  vigilance."  In 
his  well  thought  out  address,  delivered 
at  Cooper  Union,  New  York,  he  said: 

"I  do  not  mean  to  say  we  are  bound  to 
follow  implicitly  in  whatever  our  fathers 
did.  To  do  so  would  be  to  discard  all 
the  lights  of  current  experience,  to  reject 
all  progress,  all  improvement.  What  I  do 
say  is,  that  if  we  would  supplant  the 
opinions  and  policy  of  our  fathers  in 
any  case,  we  should  do  so  upon  evidence 
so  conclusive  and  argument  so  clear, 
that  even  their  authority,  fairly  consid- 
ered and  weighed,  cannot  stand;  and  most 
surely  not  in  a  case  whereof  we  ourselves 
declare  they  understand  the  question 
better  than  we." 

It  is  not  Lincoln's  opinion  on  a  par- 
ticular subject,  nor  his  wisdom  as  ex- 
pressed  in   his  letters,   state   papers  and 

[  page     3  ] 


speeches  which  form  his  greatest  con- 
tribution. It  is  the  attitude  and  temper 
with  which  he  approached  his  problems 
and  the  methods  by  which  he  met  them 
which  are  the  guides.  When  leaders 
are  no  longer  picked  from  those  who 
come  with  prepared  formulae  and  avowed 
panaceas,  but,  instead,  are  selected  for 
those  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  pos- 
sessed by  Lincoln,  our  problems  shall  un- 
ravel, our  troubles  dissolve,  and  our 
antipathies  and  prejudices  vanish  like  the 
dust-cloud  before  a  summer  shower. 

FOUNDATION  STONE 

THE  foundation  stone  of  Lincoln's 
character  was  absolute  honesty, 
an  affirmative  honesty  which 
leaves  no  room  for  a  doubt  of  its  presence; 
an  honesty  which  so  negatives  insincerity 
of  thought  or  purpose  that  suspicion 
crawls  away  from  it,  defeated  in  advance, 
dragging  its  challenge  still  sheathed. 
Lincoln  was  first  honest  with  himself, 
subjecting  his  words  and  actions  to  the 

[  page     4  } 


closest  scrutiny,  and  requiring  from  him- 
self a  higher  standard  of  integrity  even 
than  he  expected  from  others.  Upon 
this  rock  he  built,  and  the  life  structure 
he  raised  grew  stronger  with  the  years 
because  of  his  refusal  to  swerve  in  word 
or  deed  from  this  basic  principle.  When 
all  other  virtues  are  recited  and  com- 
mented upon,  underneath  them  lies  this 
certain,  positive,  dominating  integrity. 

The  same  honesty,  which  made  him 
walk  several  miles  in  New  Salem  to  re- 
turn money  over-paid  him  through  an 
error  in  making  change,  caused  him  to 
decide  in  favor  of  Great  Britain  in  the 
"Trent  Afiair,"  because  it  was  right, 
though  it  subjected  his  country  to  appar- 
ent humility.  The  first  would  have  been 
dismissed  by  a  less  honest  man  as  of  little 
consequence,  and  the  second  would  have 
been  dodged  for  the  sake  of  political  expe- 
dience, because  of  the  storm  of  criticism 
it  was  sure  to  provoke  and  the  personal 
abuse  he  would  meet.  Both  incidents  re- 
veal essential  honesty  so  pronounced  that 
any  other  course  for  him  would  be  im- 

[  page     5  ] 


possible. 

A  natural  corollary  to  honesty,  is  open- 
ness of  mind.  Although  Lincoln  was 
a  vigorous  and  independent  thinker,  he 
continually  sought  the  advice  of  others 
and  his  door  was  never  closed  to  anyone 
who  had  a  view  to  present  or  an  idea  to 
express,  regardless  of  whether  he  assented 
to  that  view  or  that  opinion  at  the  time. 
It  was  this  willingness  to  listen  and 
weigh  all  the  evidence  that  made  him  so 
formidable  in  debate  and  it  was  this  trait 
that  helped  him  to  arrive  at  conclusions 
so  final  that  they  seldom  required  alter- 
ation. It  was  this  quality  of  mind  that 
made  him  sympathetic  toward  the  south- 
ern people  while  he  remained  sternly 
opposed  to  the  institution  of  slavery. 

It  is  out  of  a  diversity  of  ideas  and 
honest  differences  of  opinion  that  the 
truth  is  learned.  It  would  be  unnatural 
if  all  thought  and  spoke  the  same  thing. 
Free  and  honest  discussion  of  mooted 
questions  stimulates  thought  and  develops 
power.      This,  tempered  with  toleration 

[  page     6  ] 


for  the  opinions  of  others,  spells  progress. 
Lincoln  believed  it  to  be  his  duty  to 
inform  himself  as  conscientiously  as  pos- 
sible, to  express  himself  freely  and  hon- 
estly, to  encourage  others  to  do  the 
same,  and  to  help  them  to  secure  a  hearing. 

ALL  MAY  PROFIT 

THE  educational  trait  of  this  mental 
attitude  grows  in  value  in  propor- 
tion to  the  extent  to  which  it 
expresses  honest  opinions,  based  on  care- 
ful research,  and  arouses  in  others  a  de- 
sire for  further  inquiry  and  thought. 
This  intellectual  training  in  Lincoln  is 
within  the  reach  of  all,  and  if  honestly 
applied  by  those  who  teach,  and  by  those 
who  would  learn,  it  will  go  far  to  stimu- 
late educational  values  among  the  great 
mass  of  the  people  today. 

There  are  many  well  intentioned  folk 
who  do  not  understand  the  value  of 
hearing  the  other  side  of  an  argument, 
and  of  free  discussion.  William  Hern- 
don,  Abraham  Lincoln's  law  partner  and 

[  page     7  ] 


an  earnest  abolitionist,  reproached  Lin- 
coln, on  one  occasion,  with  having 
around  their  law  offices  three  or  four 
files  of  pro-slavery  papers  from  the  south- 
ern states,  for  which  Lincoln  subscribed. 
But  Lincoln  said  in  reply  to  Herndon 
that  he  wanted  to  know  what  the  South 
was  thinking  and  saying,  whether  he 
agreed  with  it  or  not.  He  insisted  on 
getting  their  viewpoint,  and  this  habit  of 
reading  both  sides  of  a  question,  which 
gave  him  food  for  reflection,  developed 
him  into  a  real  leader  and  statesman. 

His  method  is  a  constant  lesson  in 
liberality  towards  others;  an  encourage- 
ment to  the  recognition  of  the  fact  that 
there  may  be  something  to  be  said  of  the 
other  man's  point  of  view  as  well  as  of 
your's,  that  you  no  more  see  all  the  truth 
than  he  does;  and  that  if  all  thus  seen 
can  be  fused,  a  larger  amount  of  truth 
will  result.  Above  all,  his  method  is  a 
revelation  of  what  a  man  can  make  out 
of  himself  if  he  will.  Indeed,  the  impres- 
sion grows  that  the  greatest  service 
Lincoln  did  this  country  was  the  demon- 

[  page     8  } 


stration  of  what  could  be  made  of  a  mind 
by  passionate,  persistent  effort.  To  what 
moral  heights  might  the  nation  rise  if 
dealt  with  in  perfect  candor  and  honesty! 

THE  HUMAN  VIEWPOINT 

LINCOLN  was  able  to  view  every 
individual  question  in  its  relation 
to  human  welfare  and  human  prog- 
ress. Questions  involving  moral  issues 
he  always  interpreted  in  easily  understood 
terms.  Even  the  complicated  issues 
raised  by  the  Slavery  Question,  culminat- 
ing in  those  historic  debates  with  Douglas, 
he  interpreted  as  part  of  a  great  move- 
ment and  not  alone  an  isolated  question. 
This  is  well  illustrated  in  the  summary 
of  his  debate  with  Douglas,  at  Alton, 
Illinois,  when  Lincoln  said: 

"This  is  the  issue  that  will  continue  in 
this  country  when  these  poor  tongues  of 
Judge  Douglas  and  myself  shall  be  silent. 
It  is  the  eternal  struggle  between  these 
two  principles  —  right  and  wrong  — 
throughout  the  world.     They  are  the  two 

[  page     9  } 


principles  that  have  stood  face  to  face 
from  the  beginning  of  time  and  will  ever 
continue  to  struggle.  The  one  is  the 
common  right  of  humanity,  the  other  the 
divine  right  of  kings.  It  is  the  same 
spirit  in  whatever  shape  it  develops  itself. 
It  is  the  same  spirit  that  says,  'You  toil 
and  work  and  earn  bread,  and  TU  eat  it.' 
No  matter  in  what  shape  it  comes, 
whether  from  the  mouth  of  a  king  who 
seeks  to  bestride  the  people  of  his  own 
nation  and  live  by  the  fruit  of  their  labor 
or  from  one  race  of  men  as  an  apology 
for  enslaving  another  race,  it  is  the  same 
tyrannical  principle." 

A  CHALLENGE 

LINCOLN'S  Hfe  is  a  call  to  the  train- 
ing of  the  mind  until  it  can  form 
sound,  workmanlike,  trustworthy 
conclusions;  a  training  of  the  moral 
nature  to  justice  and  rightness;  a  training 
of  the  heart  to  a  sympathetic  measuring 
of  human  frailty;  a  training  of  the  will  to 
stand  steadfast  on  the  conclusions  of  the 

[  page  10  ] 


mind  and  heart.  To  this  end  there  must 
be  an  openness  of  mind,  a  willingness  to 
listen,  a  desire  to  know  the  truth  in  its 
entirety  before  a  determination  is  made. 
Couple  with  all  this  a  frankness  of  ap- 
proach which  negatives  unworthy  motive 
and  a  quality  of  leadership  unfolds  which 
rightly  gives  him  first  place  in  American 
history,  if  not  in  the  world. 

There  is  utter  futility  in  trying  to  con- 
jecture as  to  how  Lincoln  would  have 
solved  the  problems  of  today.  In  their 
moral  analysis,  however,  these  problems 
are  no  different  from  those  which  he 
faced  and  solved.  It  is  by  the  application 
of  the  principles  which  guided  Lincoln, 
that  a  just  solution  of  these  problems  can 
be  reached.  If  Lincoln  were  living  today, 
he  would  no  doubt  have  very  definite 
convictions  on  such  questions  as  The 
League  of  Nations,  The  World  Court, 
Prohibition,  Child  Labor,  Taxation,  The 
Exclusion  of  Aliens,  The  Constitutional 
Prerogatives  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
the  many  other  issues  that  impinge  upon 
the   present   generation.     In   arriving    at 

[  page   11  } 


these  convictions,  he  would  be  guided 
by  those  characteristics  which  have  been 
touched  upon  in  this  article. 

If  the  aid  of  Lincoln  is  to  be  enlisted 
in  the  solution  of  the  present  day  prob- 
lems there  must  be  sought  and  found  in 
his  life  the  salient  elements  of  his  great- 
ness, and  these  must  be  transmuted  into 
the  fibre  of  present  day  leadership. 

SIMPLE  AND  GREAT 

PRESIDENT  Lincoln  was  able  to  be 
simple  and  at  the  same  time  great; 
courteous  and  yet  courageous;  yield- 
ing and  sympathetic,  and  withal  a  splen- 
did executive  —  virtues  seldom  found 
combined  in  one  man.  It  was  supreme 
tact,  combined  with  firmness  and  confi- 
dence in  his  own  judgment  which  en- 
abled Lincoln  to  win  over  his  cabinet. 
The  cabinet  was  made  up  of  a  group  of 
men  extremely  partisan,  critical  and  diffi- 
cult to  handle;  at  first  some  of  them  at- 
tempted to  belittle  him,  underestimating 
his  real  nature,  later  some  of  them  lost 

[  page  12  ] 


confidence  in  him,  when  he  seemed  to 
stand  alone,  but  finally  they  all  came  to 
recognize  in  him  a  real  leader  among 
men.  This  remarkable  reversal  of  judg- 
ment of  those  closely  associated  with 
Lincoln  is  perhaps  best  expressed  by 
Stanton,  his  Secretary  of  War,  with 
whom  Lincoln  frequently  differed  in  pol- 
icies. It  was  Stanton  at  the  death  bed 
scene  on  the  morning  of  April  15,  1865, 
when  Lincoln,  the  victim  of  an  assassin's 
bullet,  breathed  his  last,  who  paid  this 
remarkable  tribute  to  his  chief: 

"He  now  belongs  to  the  ages — 

here  lies  the  most  perfect  ruler 

of    men    the    world    has   ever 

known." 


^  ^  Q  \^ 


[  page  13  ] 


L'ENVOY 

LINCOLN  lives.  The  monument 
at  Springfield  does  not  hold  him 
from  the  world.  Such  a  character 
never  dies.  It  has  so  interwoven  itself 
into  history  and  so  influenced  human 
action  that  it  endures  for  all  time. 

When  the  pomp  of  insincerity  has 
finished  its  parade  and  the  sham  of  pol- 
itical intrigue  has  been  exposed;  when 
the  sacrifice  of  integrity  to  a  temporary 
glory  has  reaped  its  just  harvest  of  igno- 
miny; when  the  conscienceless  leader 
shall  behold  the  broken  sword  of  his 
disgrace;  when  ambitious  greed  shall 
awake  to  find  only  husks  of  possible 
greatness  at  its  table:  then  shall  Lincoln 
still  live. 

When  civic  courage  shall  some  day 
have  its  place  with  the  heroes  of  the  age, 
Lincoln's  name  shall  lead  all  the  rest. 
When  human  example  shall  be  sought 
for  the  youth  struggling  in  poverty, 
through  which  he  shall  be  inspired  to 
loose   the  bands  of  environment  or  cir- 

[  page  14  ] 


cumstance  to  rise  to  the  potential  possi- 
bility of  his  life,  Lincoln  shall  help  to 
strike  the  fetters  from  him  and  bid  him 
with  confidence  meet  the  future.  Wher- 
ever men  shall  strive  to  find  the  path  to 
the  hearts  of  the  people,  Lincoln  shall 
guide  them. 

If  faith  in  representative  government 
shall  totter  under  the  strain  of  conflicting 
forces  impelled  by  passion  and  prejudice, 
Lincoln  shall  set  it  upon  its  feet  again  by 
pointing  to  the  bitterest  civil  contest 
ever  waged  in  history  met  by  him  with 
constant  appeal  to  fundamental  principles, 
with  an  understanding  of  temper  and 
environment  which  enabled  him  to  pro- 
ceed without  malice  to  hold  together  a 
union  of  states  so  dearly  bought,  and  in 
which  the  greatest  good  for  all  was  the 
preservation  of  the  common  heritage. 
And  so  long  as  time  shall  turn  its  hours 
into  history  this  man  shall  be  a  part  of 
the  evolution  of  self-government  into 
unquestioned  perpetuity. 

Why  go  on?  That  life  which  shall  be 
led  throughout  by  conscious  honesty  of 

[  page  15  ] 


purpose,  which  shall  have  the  courage  to 
follow  this  lead,  however  blind  may  be 
the  road  ahead,  is  an  ever  continuing 
force  in  human  action.  The  bullet  of 
the  assassin,  the  coffin  and  the  grave  can- 
not end  it.  The  voice  now  silent  yet 
speaks  with  a  million  tongues.  The  pen, 
fallen  from  the  grasp  of  nerveless  fingers, 
is  caught  by  countless  eager  hands  to 
write  on  and  on  forever  the  message  of 
fidelity  to  principle.  Wherever  the  air 
of  freedom  shall  be  breathed,  he  breathes. 
Wherever  unmanacled  liberty  shall  walk, 
he  walks.  Wherever  human  eyes  shall 
search  for  truth  they  shall  take  his  lens 
and  find  it. 

Lincoln  lives.  As  said  the  great 
Stanton,  when  the  life-light  faded  and 
the  pulse  ceased  to  beat: 

"He  now  belongs  to  the  ages!" 


^  THE  END  t^ 


[  page  16  ] 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

973.7L63GH17A  C002 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  HIS  SPIRIT  LIVES  STOUGH 


3  0112  031818963 


